Chapter 18 - Doomed (G
It was a peaceful evening at the Glitz Pit. All throughout the building, it was quieter than it had ever been. Unless you were to count the hidden room located behind the arena’s monitor, however, where GB was being beaten senseless. “I’M OKAY, LUKKI!” screamed the blooper, as he was chucked at the wall for the eighth time in a row. “STOP ASSAULTING ME!” “I know. It’s just that hurting you is really fun.” Lukki punched the squid square in the face and let him go. Trying to ignore the intense agony he felt throughout his entire body, GB took a deep breath and looked up at his assailant through two black eyes. He was met with the odd spectacle of Parin, who had reverted to her original form, with Lukki sitting on her shoulders. Luckily, her sheet seemed to have returned along with her, and she had torn off a strip of it to make a purple cloth skirt that her lakitu lover sported proudly. “Wow, Lukki!” GB gasped, the pain beginning to subside. “I can’t believe it! You actually managed to break free from your bindings and rescue me!” “That’s right!” The lakitu stretched out his arms in an attempt to flex, and two miniscule bumps rose in a comical fashion. “Oh, please,” Parin muttered. “He just struggled within the ropes like an idiot for a solid twenty minutes before I transformed into my much bigger size, snapping the little amount that held me as a squeak.” “Oh.” Lukki sunk his head until it was out of view, and GB continued. “I guess that makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is why he’s sitting on your shoulders.” “I’m trying to help her build up her strength. She’s got a lot of work to do if she ever intends to catch up to me!” Lukki boasted. Parin let go of his stubby legs and let him fall over backwards. “That’s his cute way of saying that he’s been so dependant of his cloud for such a long time that he doesn’t even have enough leg strength to move on his own,” she said, and Lukki stretched his skirt over his head like an ashamed child. “Hey, I guess that’s something that makes us similar!” said GB, a smile creeping across his face. “Neither of us can move on our own!” “Real funny,” grumbled Lukki, and Parin put him on her shoulders again. “Do you want me to violently beat your friends or not?” “My… friends?” GB suddenly remembered Asotzen and Naturae and dragged himself over to them. He looked upon their unconscious figures. He took a deep breath, and said, “No. They clearly didn’t want to be a part of this, judging by their submissiveness. Plus, my state is already bad enough, and that’s why I was willing to take a few more hits. Getting brutally beaten on their first day here wouldn’t be the warmest welcome.” “What about all that side effect mumbo jumbo?” Parin cut in. “Aren’t you worried that they’ll be permanently affected if we let the drug settle in?” “They didn’t seem too concerned, so it can’t possibly be that bad. We just need to focus on stopping Boshi before he gets anyone else!” “You mean like them?” Lukki said, pointing over to a dark corner of the room. Squinting his bruised eyes, GB was shocked to see a pile of shifting sacks stacked on top of one another. “Yeah, Boshi came in and out a lot during my attempts to break free. We pretended to be sleeping, but we saw what was going on. Apparently, he decided that simply tying them up wasn’t enough, and that those oxygen depriving bags were more than necessary.” “Alright. I think our first course of action is to set everyone fr-” GB suddenly stopped speaking, hearing a faint noise from outside. “He’s here.” “Oh no. We’re doomed!” Lukki whispered in a tone that sounded like a quiet scream. “GB!” said Parin in a fashion similar to that of the lakitu. “What do we do?!” “Well, the obvious attack that I tried with Naturae and Asotzen didn’t do any good,” GB said frantically, “so our best bet is to take him by surprise! Gather around the door and prepare to strike!” The three got into their positions on either side of the entrance and waited in silence. When the door opened and a figure walked in, they pounced. “Hello? Palette here!” called out the hammer bro. “I thought I saw-” GB sprayed ink all over the innocent newcomer, and Parin launched Lukki onto him. Quickly realizing their horrible mistake, they backed off and tried to apologize. It was too late, however, for the boy had ran away crying, the door closed tight behind him. “We’re so sorry!” Parin cried out, picking the lakitu up again. “This was all a huge misunderstanding! Please come back!” Expecting the hammer bro to return, they were caught completely off guard when the door opened once more and they found themselves face to face with Boshi. He jumped up and did a flutter kick, sending the three flying backwards onto their behinds. Boshi began to creep towards them slowly. “I’m impressed. I truly am. I’ve gone up against some resilient innocents, but never have any of them resisted death once, not to mention twice. I hate to tell you, buckos, but I’m afraid that this time around, it’s going to be different.” “You boast that you’re pretty strong, huh Boshi?” Parin said, glaring at the criminal. “Why, of course. Stronger than any of you, that’s for sure!” “That may be true. You are stronger than any of us. There is somebody you’re not stronger than, however, and that’s… YOURSELF!” Parin transformed into Boshi and jumped at him. He lept backwards, and they found their hands interlock in a shoving match. Wasting no time, Lukki grabbed GB, squeezed a puddle of ink onto the ground, got down on him like a boogie board, and pushed off of the wall. They slid straight between the dinosaurs’ legs and flew out the door right before it could close. What the lakitu did next, however, surprised GB even more. He got up and, holding the blooper under his arm like a football, ran out of the arena. When GB looked up at him, he noticed that he was gritting his teeth and quietly screaming in agony. “Lukki, are you insane?” GB yelled. “All of this sudden movement… you’re going to hurt your legs!” “That never stopped you from moving around on your own, did it?” he replied, smiling. “It looks like we are pretty alike, after all.” In a matter of seconds, they reached the blue major league room. Upon their arrival, Lukki threw GB down on the bed and starting searching around underneath it. “What are you doing?” questioned the blooper, but the lakitu had already found what he was looking for. He pulled out his cloud and set GB in it. “What? Why are you giving this to-” “You’ve fought this for way longer than me. If anyone has a shot at ending all of this, it’s you.” Suddenly, the arena doors slammed opened down the hallway. “We can talk later. I’m going to distract Boshi, and you need to get help. You need to find Chubba and Yoshi, or we’re all doomed!” “But what about y-” “Don’t worry about me,” Lukki said with a poorly executed wink. “I’ll be fine. See you on the other side!” The lakitu ran outside, slamming the door shut behind him. GB heard shouts and the sounds of two sets of feet fade into the distance. Taking a deep breath, GB prepared himself for what he was about to attempt. The fate of the Glitz Pit rested in his hands, and he could think only one thing. We’re doomed.